DREAM eTEAM
Sunday league player Graham might struggle for goals in real life but he’s got Messi and Ronnie in his FIFA side and he’s ready to take on the world
GRAHAM McINTYRE is a pub team player who has just signed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for Rangers.
McIntyre is a striker who struggles to buy a goal for Greenock outfit Bayhome Builders on a Sunday afternoon.
But he’s planning world domination with some of the biggest names on the planet.
He has Luis Suarez playing through the middle for the Light Blues, Sergio Aguero just behind, David de Gea between the sticks and he has even persuaded Patrick Vieira to come out of retirement to give his midfield a bit of dig.
The 24-year-old hopes to bring them all to play at Ibrox soon and he’s doing it all from the front room of the flat he shares with his girlfriend in Inverclyde.
McIntyre is one of the best FIFA 18 players in the world and is zoning in on qualification for the World Championships in August after being snapped up this month to represent sports website Goal.com.
He is ranked 61 in the world, no mean feat with more than seven million registered FIFA players around the globe, many of them representing leading football brands such as Barcelona, Roma, PSG and New York Red Bulls in the fast growing world of esports.
He plays up to seven hours a day and last weekend claimed a remarkable 40 victories without defeat in the FIFA Ultimate Teams – FUT – Champions league.
McIntyre, known in FIFA circles as Grayzagoal, said: “I’ve always been decent enough at football but I’m going nowhere with Bayhome Builders in the Sunday league – I’m much more into FIFA these days.
“I’m a Rangers fan so my Ultimate FIFA 18 team play in Rangers kit – Ronaldo’s my best signing by far but Messi’s dribbling skills are amazing.
“I’d love to bring my team and play on the big screens at Ibrox in front of 50,000 fans. It would be a great showcase for esports and I’d be so proud to play in front of the support.
“I believe esports will soon be shown at venues such as the Hydro because we are already attracting millions of viewer hits for tournaments we play online.”
Goal.com were inspired to snap up McIntyre, who was given his first publicity platform when he signed for Hibs two years ago, to further boost their social media audience of more than 70 million.
Millions of young adults, aged between 18-34, are regularly tuning into platforms such as Twitch and Facebook to watch video game competitions and arena tours have been sold out in the States and south-east Asia.
McIntyre said: “I played FIFA as a kid and always won against pals and the introduction of Xbox live allowed me to compete against others from across the world. My winning streak continued.
“I found websites where I could play rivals for stakes and would often win a couple of hundred pounds every weekend, playing for £10 and £20 at a time.
“I’ve moved up since then and I won the esports Celtic League last season and I’ve also beaten Spencer Ealing, who’s known as Gorilla and won the FIFA World Championships last year.”
Englishman Ealing picked up prize money of £150,000 for winning the event in London and McIntyre soon hopes to be in a position where he can earn a living from esports alone. He competes in the Sportego eLeague against players representing clubs such as Ajax, West Ham and Man City and fellow Scot Anthony McGuigan, whose brother Mark plays for Stenhousemuir, also represents marketing company Epsilon. McIntyre said: “We may not be on a real pitch kicking a ball but the graphics in FIFA 18 are now so advanced it’s almost on a par with playing the game in real life. “A split decision in FIFA 18 can change a game, just as a striker going one-on-one with a keeper in a live match can turn a game upside down. “My best ever win, against Spencer Ealing, was a case in point. He went one-on-one with my keeper and knocked the ball wide with the last kick in regulation time. I scored the golden goal through Sergio Aguero and celebrated as much as I would a win on real grass.”